Case Study 03
Elder by Hivemind Production & Tech
Designed an AI-guided learning experience that transformed a complex, textbook-heavy concept into an engaging, scalable product, securing $1M in investor funding.
Role
End-to-End Product Designer
UX Design, UX Research and UX Writing
Timeline & Status
Investor-ready prototype
Overview
Turning workplace empathy training into an AI-guided product
Elder is a workplace AI product designed to strengthen collaboration in cross-functional and cross-cultural teams. Instead of traditional compliance-style training, Elder uses an AI avatar inspired by Aboriginal Elders to guide employees through short, interactive learning modules focused on empathy, perspective, ethics, and cultural understanding.
I joined when the product existed as an early concept that felt dense, academic, and hard to engage with. The goal was clear: reimagine the experience into something intuitive, human, and compelling enough to secure investment for full-scale development.
The redesigned version was approved for scaled development in 2024 and helped secure $1M in funding for app expansion.
Context
The challenge was not the subject matter
Elder did not begin as a product. It began as a prewritten Word document — a set of learning modules covering empathy, culture, ethics, and workplace behavior.
The intention was meaningful, but the format was not built for a web app experience. The content was dense, linear, and text-heavy, closer to a handbook than an interactive product.
There was a real risk that, if shipped as-is, the experience would feel overwhelming and fail to engage users, especially in fast-paced workplace environments.
The real challenge was translating complex, sensitive ideas into an experience people would actually want to complete.
To qualify as a scalable product, the learning had to become conversational instead of instructional, modular instead of continuous, and engaging without trivializing the subject.
My Role
From early idea to investor-ready prototype
End-to-End Product Designer
- Led product concept from early idea to investor-ready prototype
- Designed the Elder AI avatar concept as the emotional and narrative core of the product
- Owned UX writing, interaction design, and learning structure
- Translated complex social concepts into short, digestible learning moments
- Introduced gamification and interactive learning mechanics
- Collaborated with founders and handed off designs to the development team
The Approach
A guided conversation, not a course
I treated Elder as a guided conversation, not a course. Instead of long explanations, the experience was redesigned around one concept per screen, one interaction at a time, short conversational microcopy, and progressive disclosure instead of information dumps.
The Elder AI avatar became the constant guide — framing learning as wisdom passed down, not rules imposed. Each module felt like learning from a trusted source, not being evaluated.
To keep users engaged, I introduced:
- Game-like interactions, puzzles, and checkpoints
- Short sessions that felt achievable
- Visual progress and rewards
- Learning paths that encouraged curiosity instead of defensiveness
Product Direction
The product direction shifted Elder from static training content into a scalable learning platform. The experience was structured around emotional pacing, visual rewards, and lightweight reflection rather than heavy instruction.
The interface supported both individual learning and workplace engagement: progress tracking, employee engagement highlights, badges, leaderboards, learning units, avatar-led prompts, and quiz-style interactions.
Outcome
A scalable AI-driven learning platform
- Redesigned product approved for scaled development
- Helped secure $1M in investor funding for further build
- Established a clear product vision for engineering handoff
- Positioned Elder as a scalable, AI-driven learning platform rather than a static training tool
I stepped away after the funding milestone to begin my Master’s in Germany, but the foundation for the product’s future was set.
